| PowerNerd | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 25, 2024 | |||
| Genre | Progressive metal | |||
| Length | 44:04 | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Devin Townsend chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from PowerNerd | ||||
| ||||
PowerNerd is the twenty-second studio album by Canadian metal musician Devin Townsend. It was released on October 25, 2024, through Inside Out Music and HevyDevy Records. [1]
About the album's title, Devin Townsend commented "I would say that a powernerd would be somebody that has a tendency that society has deemed weak or not valuable, whether that's empathy or being an insular person or an introvert, and turns that into a type of personal power." [2] Townsend reportedly gave himself only 11 days to write the entire album, and 1 day to rehearse it. [3] [4] [5]
According to Townsend, of all the albums he's ever made, PowerNerd was "[the] most fraught with unexpected sidelines": [6] The album was originally meant to feature Eloy Casagrande on drums, Mike Inez on bass, and Wes Hauch on guitar; unfortunately, by the time of recording, Casagrande has joined Slipknot, Inez began touring with Elton John, and Hauch went on tour with Allevial. [6] Additional, Townsend was hoping to outsource mixing the album as well, but that fell through due to scheduling as well. [6] Drums for the album were ultimately done by Darby Todd, who learned and recorded all his drums in a single day. [7]
The album has been described as progressive metal. [8] [9] Some critics noted that the album had a simpler, more accessible sound compared to Townsend's previous albums. [10]
PowerNerd received positive reviews from music critics upon release. Jordan Blum, writing for Metal Injection , gave the album a score of 9/10 and wrote "Without a doubt, Townsend still gets tons of mileage out of the uniquely philosophical and musical worlds he's crafted, making PowerNerd another superbly entertaining and intellectually, emotionally fulfilling addition to his catalog." [3] Kerrang! awarded it a score of 3/5 and stated "If you’re looking for divisive, multi-toned prog metal you’ll find little of that here – closer Ruby Quaker has a tongue-in-cheek blast therein – but should you appreciate the less eccentric side of this polymath’s output, plug in and power up." [10]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "PowerNerd" | 3:28 |
| 2. | "Falling Apart" | 4:23 |
| 3. | "Knuckledragger" | 4:30 |
| 4. | "Gratitude" | 3:29 |
| 5. | "Dreams of Light" | 0:54 |
| 6. | "Ubelia" | 3:58 |
| 7. | "Jainism" | 4:16 |
| 8. | "Younger Lover" | 4:09 |
| 9. | "Glacier" | 4:22 |
| 10. | "Goodbye" | 5:58 |
| 11. | "Ruby Quaker" | 4:32 |
| Total length: | 44:04 | |
| Chart (2024) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [11] | 33 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [12] | 187 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [13] | 57 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [14] | 15 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [15] | 32 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC) [16] | 28 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [17] | 18 |
| UK Album Downloads (OCC) [18] | 21 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [19] | 4 |
Devin Garrett Townsend is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also had an extensive solo career and has released a total of 28 albums across all of his projects as of 2022.
Accelerated Evolution is the sixth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, released in 2003. The album, written and produced by Townsend, was a mix of musical styles from alternative rock to hard rock to progressive metal. Townsend, the lead vocalist and guitarist, assembled a group of Vancouver musicians to perform with him on the album: guitarist Brian Waddell, drummer Ryan Van Poederooyen, bassist Mike Young, and keyboardist Dave Young. This lineup, the Devin Townsend Band, was Townsend's first dedicated lineup for his solo material, and was created as a counterpart to Townsend's extreme metal project Strapping Young Lad.
Synchestra is the eighth solo album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the second and final album he recorded with The Devin Townsend Band. The album was released in January 2006 on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.
Ziltoid the Omniscient is the tenth studio album by Canadian metal musician Devin Townsend, released on his own label HevyDevy Records in May 2007, and distributed in America and Europe by InsideOut Music.
Ki is the eleventh studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the first album in the Devin Townsend Project series. The album was released on May 25, 2009, on Townsend's independent record label HevyDevy Records.
Addicted is the twelfth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the second album in the Devin Townsend Project series. The album was released on November 17, 2009, on Townsend's independent record label HevyDevy Records. The album was written and produced by Townsend, and features Ryan Van Poederooyen, Brian Waddell, Mark Cimino, and Anneke van Giersbergen.
Epicloud is the fifteenth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the fifth album in the Devin Townsend Project series. The album was released on September 18, 2012, in North America, and September 24, 2012, in Europe, through his independent record label HevyDevy Records and Inside Out Music.
L'Enfant Sauvage is the fifth studio album and major label debut by French heavy metal band Gojira. It was released 26 June 2012 via Roadrunner Records.
Sorceress is the twelfth studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth. The album was released on 30 September 2016 via record label Nuclear Blast and the band's own imprint Moderbolaget.
Transcendence is the seventeenth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend. It is the seventh and final album in the Devin Townsend Project series. It was released on September 9, 2016, via HevyDevy Records.
Empath is the eighteenth studio album by Canadian metal musician Devin Townsend, released on his own label HevyDevy Records on March 29, 2019. It is his first solo album since Dark Matters, which was a part of the 2014 double album Z², and his first release to act solely as a solo album since 2007's Ziltoid the Omniscient.
In Cauda Venenum is the thirteenth studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth, released on 27 September 2019 through Moderbolaget and Nuclear Blast. It was released in two versions: a Swedish-language version and an English-language version. The band toured in support of the album throughout 2019 and into 2020. At 67 minutes and 57 seconds, it is the band's longest studio album. It is also the band's last album to feature drummer Martin Axenrot before his departure in 2021.
Extreme Power Metal is the eighth studio album by British power metal band DragonForce, released on 27 September 2019. It is the band's last studio album to feature longtime bassist Frédéric Leclercq and the first not to feature longtime keyboardist Vadim Pruzhanov, who left the band in 2018; Epica keyboardist Coen Janssen recorded keyboards for the album as a session member. The lead single "Highway to Oblivion" was released on 30 July 2019. The band embarked on a world tour in support of the album following its release. Music videos for "Troopers of the Stars" and "Strangers" were filmed, but not released until two years later, on 27 August 2021 and 25 October 2021, respectively. In 2022, the band continued touring the album after their last tour's cancelation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 29 November 2022, the music video for "The Last Dragonborn" was released, being the first music video with new bassist Alicia Vigil.
Spiritual Instinct is the sixth studio album by French post-black metal band Alcest. The album was released on 25 October 2019 through Nuclear Blast and garnered positive reviews from critics. Spiritual Instinct features Alcest live bassist Indria Saray performing on bass in the studio for the second time in the history of the band after Kodama.
Quadra is the fifteenth studio album by Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura, released on February 7, 2020. It is a concept album based on numerology, the number four and its significance as depicted on Quadrivium. The band went to Sweden to work with producer Jens Bogren for the recording of Quadra.
Apocalypse & Chill is the sixth studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Delain. It was released on 7 February 2020 via Napalm Records.
Lightwork is the twenty-first studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, released on November 4, 2022. The album has been described by Devin as a return to a "song oriented album", with "more traditional arrangements", after his latest releases. Lyrically, the album addresses the struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic, while reflecting about the post-pandemic future.
Impera is the fifth studio album by the Swedish rock band Ghost. Released on 11 March 2022, it was produced by Klas Åhlund who also produced the band's 2015 album, Meliora. The release of Impera was preceded by three singles: the first, "Hunter's Moon", was released on 30 September 2021 in support of the 2021 slasher film Halloween Kills with a version being a part of the film's closing credits; the second single, "Call Me Little Sunshine", was released on 20 January 2022 and the third, "Twenties", was released on 2 March 2022.
Ihsahn is the eighth studio album by Norwegian black metal musician Ihsahn. It was released on 16 February 2024 through Candlelight Records and was self-produced by Ihsahn.